These are some of the findings in the latest Ipsos election poll, which gauged the views of South African adults (aged 15+) and young voters (aged 18 – 24) in particular.

The study was conducted from 23 October 2018 to the 4 December 2018, drawing a response from a total of 3,571 South Africans, 15 years and older, who were interviewed face-to-face in their homes and home languages.

Interviews were conducted all over the country, from metropolitan areas to deep rural areas to ensure representative results, Ipsos said.

According to Ipsos, only 61% of young people are registered to vote. The IEC has been on a big push to get this specific age group to take part in elections, which will be the first opportunity for many to have a direct impact on the administration of the country and their very future.

Young voters only make up 17% of all registered voters in the country, despite making up a much larger proportion of the total population.

“The low registration is concerning,” Ipsos said.

In its latest poll, 2% of the respondents said they would not vote in the upcoming elections. Encouragingly, this is far below the 8% who indicated the same in 2016.

Over a third (35%) of young voters said that there wasn’t a single political party that represented their views (versus 39% of total voters), but many did indicate which party they would vote for if elections were held right now, Ipsos said.

The ANC had the most support among those polled, getting 62% of the vote.

This was followed by the EFF with 14%, and the DA with 11%. The IFP got 3% and all other partied combined got 1%, Ipsos said.

In a similar poll ahead of the 2016 elections, the ANC scored 47% of the vote, with the EFF and DA following at 12% and 11%, respectively.

Business Tech